I can finally say that I will officially be graduating at the end of this month. Can you believe it?
Of course, graduating university was my goal when I moved to England four years ago. But now that goal is so close to completion, it feels unreal. I’m so proud of myself to have worked so hard over the last four years and get a 2:1 in my English and Creative Writing degree (in my second language while working 20-30 hours on the side every week to pay for everything).
Tons of people ask me about my future plans, now graduation is so close. Which is why this entire blogpost is dedicated to that topic. I cannot plan out my entire life from here, but there are some goals, dreams and more concrete plans nearing the horizon and I’m eager to share them with you.
Travel plans
After graduating at the end of this month, I will be flying out to Denver with my family for a road trip! From Denver we’ll be driving to the west coast to visit places as LA and San Francisco.
In September and the start of October, I’ve decided to stay at my parents’ house for a short while. I’ve not had much time to be there over the last year because finishing my degree took a lot more time and effort than I ever could’ve imagined. I miss my high school friends, my sisters and other close family! Plus, this gives me almost six weeks to work on my novel and other writing projects to fill up my writing portfolio (if you have any writing that needs editing or anything that needs writing- hit me up!)
At the end of October, my boyfriend and I are going to fulfill one of my biggest dreams: travel to Japan. I’ve wanted to go to Japan since I was 12-13 years old and the fact that I’ll finally be visiting the country I’ve been dreaming off for almost 10 years blows my mind. We’ll fly out to Tokyo and stay in Japan for 2,5 weeks. From Tokyo we’ll travel to Kyoto, Osaka, Nara and Mount Fuji.
What country am I gonna live in?
Even though I’m planning to stay in the Netherlands over September and work on my writing, that doesn’t mean that I will be moving back to my home country. Manchester has become my home over the last few years and I’m nowhere near ready to leave it. Once my boyfriend and I get back from our Japan trip, I will be joining him on the plane back to the UK.
Jobs!?
And now the real, scary subject. A full-time job! When I come back to the UK in November I’m gonna try to find an affordable studio apartment in the city and start that job hunt. My dream job would be writing for television or work at a publishing agency. Of course, it’s hard to get into jobs like that, even with an English and Creative Writing degree. And I do worry that my foreign name, foreign passport and foreign accent will make this search even harder. But I’m going to try! Luckily the BBC and ITV are located in Manchester and I’m keeping an eye out on their websites for internships and job opportunities, as well as working hard to create a portfolio to show them.
Very exciting things are coming and I cannot wait to start the graduate life – but for now I’m going to relax a little after working so hard the last four years!
To all of you who are also graduating this month, congratulations!
